Packaging of articles for shipment



Sept. 17, 1957 R. F. HATFIELD 2,806,592

PACKAGING 0F ARTICLES FOR SHIPMENT Filed April 21, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

- RICHARD E HATFIELD ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 17, 1957 R. F. HATFIELD 2,806,592

PACKAGING 0F ARTICLES FOR SHIPMENT Filed April 21, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7

I 7'INVENT0R. IQIQHAED F HATFIELD BY ZWMWfiW ATTORNEYS.

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PACKAGING OF ARTICLES FOR SHIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. P/cHA 2D HA TFIL-D ATTORNEYS.

Unite assignments, to Pryor, Incorporated, Detroit, Mich, corporation of Michigan Applicatior'r April 21, 1955, Serial No. 502,992 13 Claims. or. zine-62 This invention relates to the packaging of articles for shipment or. other handling and it has to do particularly with .a container and the manner in which an article or articles are disposed and held in the container so as to be efficiently protected thereby.

-T here are a number of objects of the invention, among which is the provision of a container and packaging structure of simple low cost form, a structure especially suitable for the packaging of articles of three-dimensional form, a container and package structure wherein an article is disposed within the container without the use of packing material, such as excelsior, shredded paper or other bulky space filling packing substances, and astructure which can be manipulated and employed with great facility.

In accordance with the invention, an article is mounted in' thecontainer in a suspended manner, supported by the wall structure of the container and yet spaced from the walls. of the container so that impacts delivered to the container are not transmitted to the article.

The package structure of this invention, as disclosed herein, is admirably adapted for use with curviform glass articles, such as automobile Windshields, and rear windows and the like. As is known, these articles of the present day, are not flat pieces of glass but are curviform in shape thus having length, width and depth, wherein the depth factor is different from the factor of thickness of the glass. The invention may be employed with other articles wherein it is desired or necessary to protect the same when packaged for shipment or the like, although the accompanying drawings show a container in conjunction with an automobile windshield.

Fig. l is a view illustrating the container and an article such as a curved windshield prepared to be placed into the container.

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating the article in the container before the container is closed and sealed.

Fig. 3 is a view of the sealed container.

Fig. 4 is a view looking edgewise of the packaged article showing the container and some parts of the holding means in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken sub stantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 illustrating structure applied to the article.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 4 illustrating the container in fully closed position.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 7--7 showing the container in closed position.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a blank of a hanger element.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a filler element.

Fig. 10 is a view of a blank of another hanger element.

Fig. llis a view illustrating another spacer or filler element. 7

By reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the container or carton shown is of rectangular form and to describe Patent will be used having in mind, however, that these terms are used to distinguish one part from another only. The container is fashioned from one or more blanks of scored material such as corrugated fiber board or the like, with an end wall 1, an opposite end wall 2, a side wall 3, a side .wall 4. Where edge portions come together the container may be sealed by a sealing strip 6. Two side walls are eventually formed by flaps which are shown in open position in Fig. 1. One side wall, the near one as Fig. 1 is viewed, has end flaps 10 and 11 and top and bottom side flaps 12 and 13. The opposite side wall is provided by similar flaps 10', 11', 12', and 13. The position of the container in Fig. 1 is such that the wall 3 may be termed, for descriptive purposes, the upper side wall and the wall 4 the lower side wall. All walls other than walls 1 and 2-may be consideredside walls,

and even the term end is relative.

it some relative terms, such as end side, top and bottom 1 The article to be' packaged, as aforesaid, is a glass sheet such as a windshield or a rear window of an automobile and it is shown at W. it is of the three-dimensional form in that it has length, width, and depth which will be ap preciated by reference to Fig. 4 which illustrates the curviform of the glass sheet which gives it its depth dimension. This is what is meant by describing the article as three-dimensional. However, the article to be packaged need not necessarilybe curviform. i

The article is hung in the container so that it floats therein without benefit of space consuming packing material) For the article shown, there is afspacer or filler 20 (Fig. 9), which may be formed so that it is triangular in cross sectional shape andit may be fashioned from a blank of corrugated fiber board with edge portions overlapping, as shown, and may be held together by a strip of gummed paper or fabric 21. The spacer is of hollow form. There is' another similar filler 20' (Fig. 4). Depending upon the shape of the article, these fillers may be identical. There is another filler positioned relatively centrally at 24. This filler may be of rectangular hollow form fashioned from a suitably creased blank corrugated fiber board and may be held together by a gummed paper strip or fabric 25. Due to the compound curvature of the windshield, the filler 24 may be of tapering form; that is to say, it has a thickness at one end greater than the other. This shape, of course, depends upon the shape of the article to be packaged.

In the structure shown, there are three elements which may conveniently be termed hangers. One is shown at 30. It is formed from a blank of suitable cardboard or corrugated board having a body portion 31 scored or creased as at 32 and 33 and at 34 and 35. This hanger is also cut through at two places on lines 36 and 37 to form tangs 38 and 39. These tangs are integrally joined with the blank substantially at the scored lines 32 and 33. The scored lines 34 and 35 are angularly disposed, the angle depending upon the shape of the article and the scored lines define flaps or wings 40 and 41 and 42 and 43.

There is another similar hanger 39 (Fig. 1), although it may necessarily be oppositely constructed and scored so that the hangers 30 and 30' may be considered as rights and lefts.

The hanger 3t) and the filler 2% are secured to the article on opposite faces thereof. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the tiller 2% is placed with one side thereof against the underside of the windshield, using the term under with reference to Fig. 4, while the body 31 of the hanger 30 is positioned on the top side thereof. The long dimension of the body 31 is substantially the same as the width of the article as is also the length of the filler 20. The hanger 30 is adhesively secured to the surface of the glass. This is preferably done by means of an adhesive strip 5 0 which is adhesive on both faces to thus adhere to the hanger 30 and to the surface of the glass. However, the body 31 of the hanger 30 may be secured to the glass by the application of glue or other adhesive directly to' the surface of both. The windshield, the hanger, and the filler 20 are strongly secured together a by means of a metal band 51 of the type usedin banding shipping cases and the like. The band is formed from suitable strip of metal tape, such as steel, and the ends thereof are secured together by a machine known to those versed in the art. The secured ends are 'illus trated at 53. In this connection, the tangs 39 and 38 (see Fig. 5) are fashioned about the edge of the glass and preferably over the edge of the filler 20 thus leaving an opening 55 in the wing or flap 42. The metal tape passes through the opening 55, through the hollow filler, and through the opening left by the folding in of the tang 38 in a manner similar to the tang 39, as shown in Fig. 5.

I The filler 20 and hanger 30' are similarly secured to the windshield adjacent its opposite end; the hanger 30 being adhesively secured to the windshield and held by the metal band 53.

There is a central hanger 30a with a body portion 31a scored or creased as at 32a and 34a to provide wing or flaps 40a and 41a. It is also scored or creased as at 33a and 35a to provide wings or flaps 42a and 43a. This blank is similarly cut to form tangs 38a and 39a, and provided with strips of double adhesive 50.

The filler 24 is disposed adjacent the central portion of the windshield transversely thereof and a hanger 30a on the oposite side thereof and the filler 24 and hanger 30a are bound to the vvinshield by the metal strap 53a (Fig. 1). The metal strap 53a passes through the openings provided by the tang 38a and 39a and these tangs are fashioned about the edges of the glass panel in the manner shown in Fig. 5.

The carton is advantageously and preferably marked with a printed line or scoring an indicated at 60 for purposes of locating the article within the container.

In placing the article in the container the fillers and hangers are first secured thereto as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 and then the windshield with the hangers and fillers thereon may be moved into the container or box by shifting it :sidewise if the container and windshield are positioned relative to each other as shown in Fig. 1. The mark or indicia 60 is used with reference to a portion on the article, such as the flaps 43 as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the article is properly located. With the article thus positioned in the container, it is held above and spaced from the bottom side wall 4 (Fig. 4) and the hanger flaps are now bent on their bend lines so that the kaps 4t) and 42 extend downwardly with the flaps 41 and 43 extending outwardly therefrom as shown in Fig. 2. It will now be appreciated that the angle of the windshield at the location where the filler 20 is ap-' plied-determines the angle of the score lines 34 and 35. The flaps of the hanger 3i) and the central hanger 30a ar similarly shaped, a shown in Fig. 2.

The end flaps of the container are now folded in. Considering the near side as Fig. 1 is viewed, the flap folds over the flap 43. The flap 11 folds over the flap 43. The side flaps are now to be folded. The flap 12 may first be folded downwardly so as to overlie the flaps 10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 6. At a suitable point in the packaging glue or other suitable adhesive is applied to the flaps 43', and 43a. Now, the lower flap 13 is foflded upwardly, and in this action the flaps of the hangers, namely, 43, 43' and 43a are folded upwardly on the bend lines provided therefor and are in interfacial relation with flap 12 as well as flap 13. The glue 61 thus adheres the flaps 43, 43' and 43a to the under lying flap 12 as indicated in Fig. 6. Suitable pressure'may be applied to cause the glue to effectively set. The flaps on the opposite side of the container are similarly folded. The hanger flaps may be glued to the outer of the overlapping flaps of the container or to both the inner and outer flaps of the container.

The central hanger is not associated with an end flap, as shown in Fig. 7, but the flap 43a is secured to the flap 12 by glue 61. The container may be finally closed in any conventional manner as, for example, by gluing the overlapping flaps 12 and 13 together as well as 12' and 13- or by stitching the flaps together, as indicated by the stitches 63 in Fig. 3.

It will be noted that the windshield is thus strongly held within the container and spaced from the walls thereof. The curved end portions are held spaced from the end walls as shown in Fig. 4. Also, the main body portion of the windshield is spaced from the bottom of the container by the filler elements. The end portions of such a curved piece of glass are particularly vulnerable to breakage whereas the body of the glass where the edges thereof lie close to the flaps of the hangers can take considerable compression without damage. Moreover, the end portion of the windshield are not only curved upwardly as shown but reduced in width and thus the end portions are spaced from the walls of the container throughout their entire portion.

A windshield or other article thus packaged is held suspended within the container by the strong double side wall thereof which are comprised of the overlapping flaps. The hangers, as well a the filler elements, do not permit the glass to shift because of the tight binding of the filler elements and hanger elements, in conjunction with the adhesive connection between the hangers and the glass by the adhesive 50. Such a container with a glass windshield therein need not be transported with any particular side upwardly. To the contrary, the container may be handled in any manner within reason and may be shipped with either end up or with any side up,

I claim:

1. A shipping container structure for an article of three-dimensional form or the like, comprising, a container having walls, a plurality of filler elements, a plurality of hanger elements, means for securing the filler elements and the hanger elements to the article, the filler elements being adapted to engage the inner surface of a wall of the container to hold the article spaced from the said wall, the hanger elements having flaps, said flaps extending beyond edge portions of the article and extending to the exterior of wall portions of the container, the flaps being fashioned so that portions thereof are in interfacial relationship with the exterior of said wall portions of the container, and means securing said portions of the flaps to said wall portions of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from other walls thereof.

2. The container structure as described in claim 1 characterized in that the hanger elements are provided with openings therethrough, and a binding strap extending around the article and through the said openings to bind the respective filler elements and hangers to the article and to each other.

3. A shipping container structure for an article of threedimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship between the article and one side wall, said filler elements being relatively small with respect to the area of said walls and contacting said one side wall only, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means for securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article, said parts being fashioned to provide flap portions disposed in interfacial relationship with two opposite side walls of the container, and means securing said flap portions to said opposite side walls of the container to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

4. A shipping container structure for an article of three-dimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side-walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship between the article and one side wall, said filler elements being relatively small with respect to the area of said walls and contacting said one side wall only, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side ofthe article, the hanger elements having cut portions providing tangs bendable about edges of the article leaving openings in the hanger elements, a binding strap passing through the openings for binding the respective filler elements and hanger elements to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond opposite edges of the article and out of the enclosure formed by said container, said parts being fashioned to provide flap portions disposed in interfacial relationship with portions of two opposite side walls out side of said enclosure, and means securing said flap portions to said portions of said opposite side walls of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

5. A shipping container structure for an article of threedimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship between the article and one side wall, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means for securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article, two opposite side walls of the container comprising over-lapping flaps, said parts of the hanger elements being fashioned to provide flap portions disposed between the overlapping flaps of said two side walls of the container, and means securing said fiap portions of the hanger elements to at least one of the overlapping flaps of said opposite side walls of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

6. A shipping container structure for an article of three-dimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship between the article and one side wall, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means for securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article, two opposite side wallsof the container comprising overlapping flaps, said parts of the hanger elements being fashioned to provide flap portions disposed between the overlapping flaps of said two side walls of the container, and adhesive means securing said flap portions of the hanger elements to at least one of the overlapping flaps of said opposite side walls of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

7. -A shipping container structure for an article of threedimensional form or the like comprisinsg, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship between the article and one side wall, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means for securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article, two opposite side walls of the container comprising overlapping flaps, said parts of the hanger elements being scored and each adapted to be bent to extend around the inner flap of the side wall of the container and with a portion lying between the fiaps of the side wall, and means securing the 6 said flap portions to the said opposite side walls of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

8. A shipping container for a frangible article substan tially as described comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship along the article, a plurality of hanger elements respectively disposed adjacent the filler elements on the opposite side of the article, means securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements together and for securing the same to the article, the hanger elements having extending parts with portions thereof constituting fiaps, said flaps being disposed in interfacial relationship with exterior portions of two opposite side walls of the container, and means securing said flap portions to said exterior portions of said opposite side walls of the container, to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

9. A shipping container for a frangible article substantially as described comprising, a container having end Walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relationship along the article, a plurality of hanger elements respectively disposed adjacent the filler elements on the opposite side of the article, means securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements together and for securing the same to the article, two opposite side Walls of the container being of double formation with inner and outer portions, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article and said parts being folded and having flap portions disposed between the inner and outer portions of said opposite side walls, said flap portions being secured to the said opposite double side walls, whereby to hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

10. The combination of a "shipping container structure and an article of three-dimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements spaced along the article and disposed between the article and one side wall to space the article from said side wall, a plurality of hanger elements one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending laterally beyond the article and out of the enclosure formed by said container, said parts having flap portions disposed in interfacial relationship with portions of two opposite side walls of the container and said flap portions being secured to said portions of said two opposite side Walls of the container to thereby hold the article in the container spaced from the end walls and from the fourth side wall thereof.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 characterized in that the article is a sheet of curved glass.

12. A shipping container for a sheet of curved glass or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements spaced along the article on one side thereof, a plurality of hanger elements, one adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the sheet of glass, means securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the sheet, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the edge of the sheet, said parts being fashioned to provide flap portions, two opposite side walls of the container having double construction each having an inner panel and an outer panel, the end portions of said hanger elements being fashioned to extend around the edge of the inner panel with said flap portions thereof disposed in interfacial relationship between the inner and outer panels.

13. A shipping container structure for an article of three-dimensional form or the like comprising, a container having end walls and four side walls, a plurality of filler elements adapted to be disposed in spaced relation ship between the article and one side Wall, a plurality of hanger elements, one disposed adjacent each filler element and on the opposite side of the article, means for securing the respective filler elements and hanger elements to each other and to the article, the hanger elements having parts extending beyond the article, said parts of the hanger elements being fashioned to provide flap portions, said flap portions extending through portions of said side walls and means securing said flap portions to the exterior of said portions of said side Walls, to thereby References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Mason May 8, 1923 Frowenfeld et al. Jan. 12, 1937 Burack Oct. 24, 1939 Iorgensen Nov. 18, 1941 Cunningham et a1 Mar. 18, 1952 

